Impact of Mole Drains and Soil Amendments Application on Management of Salt Affected Soils

Abstract

Ameliorating the saline-sodic soil process represents an important target in the agricultural security program of Egypt. In this concern, two field experiment were conducted at El-Serw Agricultural Research Station, Damietta Governorate, Agricultural Research Centre Egypt during two successive growing seasons from (2014 2015).and (2015 )Cultivated crops comprised wheat and sunflower in a consecutive sequence, to study effect of applied alternative gypsum, (it is fabricating from some of sugar industry waste in Egypt, which cause environmental pollution problems by mixing some materials or other wastes in order to maximize the benefit and use it as an alternative gypsum) with mole depth and mole spacing on a possible amelioration for some properties of salt affected soils and its productivity of crops. The experimental design was laid out in split-split plots with three replications was followed. The main plots were three levels of irrigation treatments [field capacity (I1), field capacity +10% (I2) and field capacity +20% (I3)]. The sub plots were five mole drains treatments [ without mole(M0),2m mole space with 30 cm depth (M1), 2m mole space with 50 cm depth (M2), 4m mole space with 30 cm depth (M3) and 4m mole space with 50 cm depth (M4)]. The sub sub plots were three alternative gypsum treatments [ Gypsum (control), alternative gypsum one(AG1) and alternative gypsum two(AG2)] at a rate of 5,71 Mg fed.-1 for each of them. The applied alternative gypsum treatments were uniformly spread on soil surface and thoroughly mixed in the top 15 cm. before sowing. Leaching requirements estimated and then amount of irrigation water applied. The most important findings can be summarized as follows: The effect of the depth, distance of the moles with the addition of alternative gypsum treatments and levels of irrigation treatments [field capacity +20% (I3)]. Reduce salinity, acidity, bulk density, penetration resistances , total porosity,. On the contrary, increase the values ​​of hydraulic conductivity, organic matter, Grain yield (Mg fed. -1), Water productivity (kg/m3) and Water consumptive use efficiency (m3fed-1).The highest values ​​of field crops and water use efficiency occurred when the integration and overlap between increasing the depth of mole to 50 cm, decreasing of the mole to 2 meters and field capacity +20% (I3) with the use of alternative gypsum one (GA1) followed alternative gypsum two (GA2) and gypsum. The achieved amelioration in physio-chemical and hydrological properties of the studied soil positively reflected on the increases of grain yields of crops (wheat and sunflower). Finally, the obtained results suggest that this work is considered as scientific and logic fundamental base for a successful agricultural development of such salt affected area as well as possible to increase unite area income